"The average age of the Zemlinsky Quartet is 28," James di Giambattista, President of the Honolulu Chamber Music Series (HCMS), noted in his introduction, "and they've been playing together for 13 years."

In effect, these four musicians – Frantisek Soucek (first violin), Petr Strizek (second violin), Petr Holman (viola), and Vladimir Fortin ('cello) – grew up together, which may account for their distinctive style. They performed at the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Doris Duke Theatre on Tuesday.

As an ensemble, they were less four equal and independent voices, the standard for string quartets, than one four-part instrument. Each seemed to be "playing into" a conception of the whole shared by all four. They moved as one in every nuance of phrasing, even going so far as to rush — as young, enthusiastic musicians are occasionally wont to do — together. Even when all four were playing, it remained perfectly clear which part was dominant, how the parts related, and where the counterpoint lay.

Theirs was an extraordinary sound.

Despite their 13 years together, the Zemlinsky Quartet is still a young quartet. There were moments with rough edges and stray notes out of tune, but the fact that they have come so far so early in their careers suggests they have the potential to become one of the great quartets.

Tuesday's concert offered numerous highlights.

They opened with Mozart's "Dissonance" Quartet (No.19, K. 465, dedicated to Haydn), so nicknamed because of its chromatic opening reminiscent of Haydn's famous "Chaos" passage.

In the hands of these musicians, Mozart's wild chromaticisms made eerie sense as individual lines "peeled off" one another, twisting away into unexpected realms before finally breaking into a sunny C Major allegro. Even in the most homophonous of passages, their integrated playing revealed Mozart's counterpoint, and they delivered an absolutely hilarious fourth movement, the chromaticisms from the opening returning to enrich Mozart's parody of Haydn's humor.

The Zemlinsky Quartet's Mozart felt carefully crafted, and was probably the cleanest reading, but the following works felt more instinctive, closer to the musicians' hearts.

In String Quartet No.1 (Op.4) by Alexander Zemlinsky, the ensemble's namesake, they captured the music's fiery, late-Romantic character, especially in the presto trio section of the second movement and in the sudden outbursts of the fourth. In the first movement, they used a striking effect that mimicked an accordion, with its wheezy timbre and inhale-exhale pattern.

They closed with a relaxed reading of Dvorak's folk-inspired and ever-popular "American" Quartet (No.12, Op.96), their texture becoming more four-voiced and showcasing individual musicians in memorable solos.

In response to a standing ovation, the musicians offered a rousing arrangement of "Dance of the Comedians" from [The Bartered Bride] by Bedrich Smetana that ended in a humorous deconstruction of themes.

The youthful energy of the Zemlinsky Quartet stood in contrast to the previous HCMS concert, which featured pianist Leon Fleisher, now in his eighties and ending his career. The audiences gave both standing ovations – one for a past filled with extraordinary achievements, the other for a future of bright promise.

The Honolulu Chamber Music Series concludes on Thursday, March 26th, with baritone William Sharp and the renowned Peabody Trio, the resident ensemble of the Peabody Conservatory in Boston, comprised of mid-career faculty who have been performing together for 20 years.

Peabody Trio

Final concert, Honolulu Chamber Music Series

7:30 p.m. March 26

Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts

$20–$35

www.honoluluacademy.org, 532-8700